FAA fines Alaska Airlines and its Horizon subsidiary

03 May, 2012

SOURCE: Air Transport Intelligence news

BY: John Croft

Washington DC

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed nearly $700,000 in fines against Alaska Airlines and its subsidiary, Horizon Air, for documentation and tagging errors and for flying at least 45 revenue passenger flights while not being in compliance with an airworthiness directive (AD).

The agency is fining Alaska $210,000 for allegedly failing to document alternative actions it took when mechanics deactivated certain equipment on six Boeing 737s on 10 occasions between 13 and 19 June 2011. It also did not install "the appropriate danger tags" on the aircraft, says the FAA.

"These requirements are safety measures designed to reduce hazards to technicians during maintenance and to prevent potential damage to the aircraft and onboard systems," the FAA says.

For Horizon, the FAA is proposing a $445,125 fine for allegedly flying Bombardier Q400 turboprops on 45 revenue passenger flights between 17 and 23 March 2011 without having complied with an AD that required the airline to inspect for cracked or corroded engine nacelle fittings on the aircraft every 300h.